A blooming marvellous deal by Blake Morgan

Blake Morgan’s Corporate team has advised Butters Group Limited, one of the UK’s biggest growers and suppliers of plants and flowers, on its sale to Flamingo Horticulture.

The Butters Group, headquartered in Spalding, Lincolnshire, turns over £52 million a year and has more than 300 staff working across its flower, plant and nursery divisions.

Butters has operated highly successfully in both the UK retail and home delivery markets, developing strong partnerships with major high street supermarkets and DIY outlets such as Marks & Spencer, J Sainsbury, Waitrose, ASDA, Wilko and B&Q.

Flamingo’s MD David Brown said: “We are extremely excited by this acquisition. We believe it is a complementary fit to our existing horticulture business and will allow us to take a step forward in growing the Flamingo horticulture group as a whole.”

Commenting on Blake Morgan’s involvement, Andy Coaten, who will remain as Managing Director at Butters, said: “Blake Morgan supported the management team with both excellent legal and commercial advice through the sales process and were integral in helping deliver a successful outcome.”

Steve Phillips, Financial Director at Butters, added: “I cannot compliment the Blake Morgan team highly enough for their hard work and professional diligence.Their ability to deal with the “odd curve ball” was exemplary and they kept the management and board on track to deliver a successful outcome for all.”

Investor Director, Ole Bettum commented: “As always, the BM team was very efficient, commercial and extremely tenacious in assisting management and the board of Butters in getting a good result for shareholders.”

James Hawkeswood, head of Blake Morgan’s South Coast Corporate team, who led the legal team working on the transaction, said: “This was a great deal for a very successful company whose management team is clearly top-drawer.

“They were a pleasure to work with, and I for one will think of them every time I walk into the supermarket!  We wish the enlarged group every success for the future.”

Blake Morgan has an international portfolio of multi-national client companies (public and private), SMEs, owner managed businesses and start-ups with a need for high-quality corporate and M&A support and advice. The corporate team is acknowledged within the legal industry and in the independent legal directories, for providing a first-class level of service across a wide range of transactions including mergers, acquisitions, sales, private equity and joint ventures.